Hearing the child's cry, Wen Wen's expression froze.
"Why are they crying? It's so festive here."
Tao Qingqing, walking at the forefront, lightly covered her face and rolled her eyes.
"If you didn't do so many 'underworld' things, you wouldn't scare the child."
Fortunately, she had been Wen Wen's assistant for a long time, otherwise, if Wen Wen had used her to carry the sedan chair, she would have been utterly humiliated.
"Underworld... perhaps my color palette was not chosen well. I'll switch to red next time."
While Wen Wen was pondering, the villagers of Yaoling Village were completely stunned. These half-savages who had lived in the mountains had never seen such a spectacle. What kind of magical play was this?
The four graceful maidens carrying the sedan chair, while appearing delicate, were in fact four monsters, ensuring the chair was exceptionally stable.
Wen Wen sat in the chair, looking down at the Yaoling Village populace, idly playing with the Qilin Spirit Pearl, which had now transformed into a seven-colored divine egg.
"A few days ago, when I took the Qilin Spirit Pearl, I said I would bring the Qilin back. Now, I have brought the Qilin back."
Village Chief Long's expression was filled with emotion as he looked at the Qilin egg, tears streaming down his face, his eyes seeming to glow.
He had guarded this dilapidated village for over a thousand years, finally awaiting the day of the Qilin's return.
"Sir, your great kindness is unforgettable to Yaoling Village. If you have any commands in the future, Yaoling Village will repay you with our lives, even if it means death!"
The rest of the Yaoling Village people also pledged their loyalty, and though it seemed chaotic, their sincerity was absolute.
"Forget about repaying with your lives. I'm not a human trafficker, I don't need your lives," Wen Wen waved his hand, gesturing to Tao Qingqing.
Tao Qingqing nodded and walked to the front of Elder Long and the others with a contract scroll.
"To revive the Qilin, I paid a great price."
"Therefore, you cannot let me work in vain. This contract has some terms of transaction. If you agree, I will return the Qilin egg to you."
"Don't worry, these are all terms for an equal transaction; they won't make you become beasts of burden."
Elder Long had great faith in Wen Wen's assurances. Last time, Wen Wen said he would bring the Qilin back, and the Qilin had indeed returned.
However, when Tao Qingqing unfurled the scroll, the four elders of Yaoling Village were all dumbfounded.
They had originally thought that a scroll would only contain a few clauses. To their surprise, as soon as the scroll was unfurled, it kept rolling and rolling, extending for more than ten meters, and the air suddenly fell silent.
"Mr. Black Cross, this..."
Village Chief Long looked at Wen Wen with a troubled expression. These densely packed clauses were simply too excessive.
"Read it first, it's just that there are a few more items," Wen Wen said nonchalantly, not thinking his demands were harsh.
Village Chief Long began to study the scroll carefully. After a while, he felt relieved. Although there were many items, most of them were acceptable.
For example, the requirement to periodically collect a certain material from the mountain could be fulfilled by Yaoling Village dispatching the lesser monsters within Qiling Mountain to do so.
The Containment Facility did not operate on charity. They could pay the lesser monsters a portion of the proceeds and even profit as intermediaries.
Another example was to dispatch a small number of young and strong individuals to work for the SRS Foundation.
This condition was not harsh either. With the Qilin's return, the young people of Yaoling Village no longer needed to be confined to the village. Venturing out occasionally would also benefit them.
The four elders finally deliberated for an hour. Finding no hidden pitfalls in the clauses, they signed the contract with Wen Wen.
Holding the signed contract, Wen Wen sat in his chair and left Yaoling Village with satisfaction. The eerie winds were the same as when they arrived, and the mournful sounds of the suona made the villagers of Yaoling Village's skin crawl.
With the successful negotiation of this contract, the Containment Facility had established a deep cooperation with Yaoling Village. Yaoling Village could now provide many of the materials required by the Containment Facility.
Furthermore, once the Qilin was revived, it would owe Wen Wen a favor, and the Yaoling Village's influence would become a natural ally of the Containment Facility.
After Wen Wen disappeared, Village Chief Long looked at the Qilin egg in his hand, his expression slightly dim.
Once the Qilin was revived, it could inherit all the power within the egg. However, due to the previous incident of energy loss, the Qilin's strength upon revival might only be at the lowest tier of the Cataclysmic level.
But this was not Mr. Black Cross's fault, so they remained grateful to him.
Moreover, as long as the Qilin hatched, it would eventually recover its original strength.
After walking for two miles in the eerie gloom, causing birds and beasts to scatter in the forest, Wen Wen dismissed the female monsters and those playing the suona.
He was left only with Tao Qingqing and Hu Youling, and the three of them boarded a plane back to Qianhe City.
The first major task Wen Wen had to undertake upon his return was to relocate the entire Monster Factory to the Xia Mansion in Yuliannu.
Moving the factory was a tedious and monotonous task, and upon reaching the Xia Mansion, the production scale would need to be expanded, requiring a long process.
Therefore, Wen Wen assigned this task to Wen Wu.
With Wen Wu, the perfect tool, Wen Wen felt a sense of relief and wished he had such a tool during his school days to attend classes in his place.
As for Wen Wen himself, he was researching a more interesting matter.
That was to collaborate with Yan Biqing and Ding Mingguang to figure out how to utilize Yuliannu's temporal imprints.
Wen Wen's initial plan for a 'Main God Space' was completely discarded because the idea originated from internet novels in Hua Mansion, and too many people had seen them, which could easily lead those who joined to develop problematic ideas.
After all, Wen Wen needed to collect information, not cultivate fighters with muscles for brains.
The final plan was named 'Nation of Wisdom'.
Ding Mingguang would use data collected from the internet to select investigators suitable for the Nation of Wisdom plan. These investigators would be brought by Yan Biqing to Yuliannu to explore temporal imprints.
Temporal imprints represented both danger and opportunity for the selected investigators.
If they utilized them well, they could completely provide a new turning point for their unfortunate lives.
The residences of these investigators were arranged within a small district in Yuliannu. This district was sealed off, preventing the investigators from moving freely in and out.
Additionally, they established an intelligence room there, staffed by experts and scholars from the Foundation, who were top figures in their respective fields. They could evaluate the intelligence brought back by the investigators.
The investigators had to undertake investigation missions periodically, with the objective of collecting various types of information. The information they brought back would be evaluated by these experts and scholars, and then the Containment Facility would issue them rewards.
The rewards were varied and diverse, things they would not easily obtain outside. Wen Wen could even help them become 'New Humans'.
If they accidentally awakened supernatural abilities during their investigation missions, Wen Wen would also give them the opportunity to become Containment Officers.